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Love blooms in ACT's production of 'Becky Shaw'

Christian Masters and Holly Schaff in ACT's 'Becky Shaw' on stage in Nashua

Despite wintry weather, April is here and love is in the air -- at least on stage.

Artists Collective Theatre (ACT), a new troupe in Nashua, N.H., continues its inaugural season with Becky Shaw, a comic look at love and family by Gina Gionfriddo.

The production, running for two weekends April 3-5 and 10-12 in the Hunt Memorial Building, 6 Main St., is a "comedy of bad manners, a tangled tale of love, sex and ethics among a quartet of men and women in their 30s that is as engrossing as it is ferociously funny," notes the New York Times.

Gionfriddo, a writer and producer for Law & Order, earned an M.F.A. in playwriting from Brown University and has an Obie Award, Guggenheim Fellowship and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, given to female playwright for outstanding work, under her belt.

Illumination Opera offers singles support in new musical revue

The play takes a scathing look at love, money and maternal influence. It involves Max and his adopted sister Susanna. After Susanna's father dies, she impulsively marries a grad student she meets on a ski trip and Max agrees to go on a blind date with a woman named Becky Shaw. As the date ends, they both are mugged and the ramifications go on to affect both Max and Susanna in their lives.

Performances at 8 p.m. On Thursday, April 3, it's a pay-what-you-can preview. Other shows on April 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 are $15-$20. Visit act-theatre.org.

On the marquee:

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LOVE, MUSICALLY: Chelmsford-based Illumination Opera presents Singles Support Group, A Musical Revue that showcases the funny side of looking for love. Performances are Saturday, April 5, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, April 6, at 2 p.m., at Chelmsford Center for the Arts, 1A North Road. $9.50 in advance; $10 at door. Visit chelmsfordarts.org.

WEEKEND STAGES: Merrimack College students and alumni perform the comedic satire Tartuffe in Rogers Center for the Arts, 315 Turnpike St., North Andover, Thursday-Saturday, April 3-5, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 5, at 2 p.m. $10, general admission; $5, students and college staff at 978-837-5355 or merrimack.edu/community/rogers... Dance Prism presents Variations on Make Way for Ducklings, an original ballet based on Robert McCloskey's beloved children's story, on Saturday, April 5, at 2:30 p.m. at the Collins Center, 100 Shawsheen Road, Andover. Children have a chance to meet the Mallards and other characters at a reception following the ballet. $24, adults; $18, children and seniors at danceprism.com or 978-371-1038.